Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

Flying High

The past five years I have come to have a new appreciation for track and field not only because our youngest grand daughter competed at the varsity level but I competed on the intramural level in high high school. Our grand daughter is a high jumper and has earned a college scholarship. I was a long jumper and didn’t catch anyone’s eye at the next level. The field event that has always fascinated me is pole vault. Back in the stone age, a young man from our high school set the state record at 13 feet, 4 inches. It seemed to be an insurmountable height in 1965 and he made the regional news. Today many high school vaulters are flying over 16 feet and it is not unusual for the record to be a close to 17 feet high. One has to admire a teen who picks up a fiberglass pole, sprints down the runway, jams the pole into the ground and propels himself two stories into the air.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This a freedom of choice week at 4M, which only seems appropriate for the first patriotic holiday of the year. Memorial day was originally established to honor those who gave their lives in service to this country. A soldier does not pick his adversary nor the cause of the conflict. He/she does not select the location nor the length of the battle. The warrior trusts that their government has determined the cause is just and that freedom is at risk. The combat soldier does not know if tomorrow will be the last day that he draws breath, but he/runs to the conflict and is prepared to give his last full measure of dedication and service to his country and the cause. Despite all of our troubles, we still live in “America the Beautiful”. Have a blessed Memorial Day.

Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

I had some doubts about getting this post completed on time. I am writing this on Saturday and I had a complete knee replacement last Tuesday. I won’t bore you with photos of staples and scars, but let’s just say that all is going well and the pain is not as bad as most people would describe. I will probably have the other knee done after the first of the year. Okay, that’s enough of public service announcements.

Aww…some Mondays

If you spend much time watching Food Network and you watch Pioneer Woman, you will know that this is “The Mercantile” in downtown Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Recently we took a day trip to visit this place and drive out to “The Lodge” where all of the cooking magic happens. I will say that the food here is awesome.

Pawhuska is a small oil and cattle town about 40 miles north of Tulsa and about a three hour drive from our home. The Lodge is about twelve miles outside of town. The ranch is approximately 120,000 acres and managed by seven families.

This is what part of 120,000 acres looks like from the deck of the lodge. I can only imagine watching the sun rise from here.

I am standing in the entry that Pioneer Woman’s family often enters the lodge from when they come on to the show. That counter in background is where most of the food eventually sits at the end of each episode.

The lodge is approximately 3200 square feet and contain a huge pantry, production room, and several bedrooms that I am sure staff occupies during taping of the shows. It is a very simple exterior but the interior is beautiful.

Of course no trip to the lodge would be complete without a photo of my own favorite Pioneer Woman. I guarantee, she can cook with the best of them. All in all, it was a great day and I would make the trip again once my knee heals.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Our guest host at 4M for the month is Mr. John Holton from The Sound of One Hand Typing. This week is songs in honor of the annual Eurovision song contest. I have to admit, I have no idea what that is, but I will post something appropriate, none the less. Here is the 2013 winner.

And this is the 2010 winner. That’s all I got. Have a blessed week.

Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

Final Meet

Even though our youngest granddaughter is now in college, I still like going to the local high school track meets. With a few facility exceptions, I can get to the locations that give me some of my better images. Recently, the state championship track meet was held at a local school so I grabbed the camera and headed out. Here are a few images.

Relays are always fun to watch and often provide some of the most exciting moments in the meet. Here, two true local rival schools head down the home stretch in search of the gold medal.

I was a long jumper in high school, so the event holds a special place in my heart. Timing is just as important as speed in this event if you’re going to maximize your distance.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week at 4M is a free choice week. I think I will wander back into inspirational music. Hymns of the faith and Contemporary Christian music have been a part of my life as long as I can remember. These songs can soothe our souls, bring us to our knees in prayer or make us ready to charge the gates of hell with a water pistol.

The Bible tells us that no one is righteous by his own works. In fact, scripture says the there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). The Good Book also tells us that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are a new creation and have a new nature, however, our old sinful nature never completely leaves us, but sets up a position of rebellion in our souls. God has provided a suit of spiritual armor for this battle, but we have to put it on and use it daily. Living a life committed to Christ is not easy and failure on some level is a daily occurrence.

Still, I cannot begin to count the blessings that God has sent my way. He has allowed me to be born and raised in the greatest country on earth during what will surely be considered the golden age of America. He has blessed me with a loving wife, daughter, son-in-law, four grand children and endless memories of my family. The Lord has healed me of two different types of cancer. He has allowed me to choose and work at a career that I loved and retire in a beautiful part of our great nation. God did not shower me with great wealth, but he has given me a life that is comfortable in retirement. There is not enough time or space to list the ways that God has shown His love for me, even when I was less than lovable. Every time I think about how much God loves me, a song of praise and worship comes to mind.

Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

Aww…some Monday

Recently I opened the local high school app to see if there were any sports going on that I could photograph. As we near the end of school, these opportunities are getting scarce. The composite schedule showed that the girls Lacrosse team was playing in a tournament at home. I’ve never been to a Lacrosse match but that won’t stop me from grabbing the camera and heading to the local venue. I still don’t any of the rules of the game but it is apparent that the match is basically hockey on grass. Here are a few images of the home team (in white jerseys) earning a 26-3 victory.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Our guest host for the month of May is Mr. John Holton from The Sound of One Hand Typing. Today he has challenged us to build a playlist of 1980’s movie music. I thought that might be a real challenge until a little research turned up a gold mine of music.

Linda Ronstadt has always been my favorite female vocalist and surely she has a movie song to her credit. Sure enough Linda and James Ingram teamed up to produce a beautiful ballad from “An American Tail”.

While I am sure this song will appear on more that one playlist today I cannot let an 80’s movie music tribute go by with out the best Navy recruiting video of all time. You are about to enter the “Danger Zone”

It seems that quite a few of the 80’s “Hair Bands” contributed to movie soundtracks. Journey contributed their biggest hit to the movie “Heavy Metal”. Some have called “Open Arms” the greatest ballad of all time. What do you think?

Some movie songs take on a life of their own outside the music industry. This next, and final entry has become our local high school’s fight song. The Bentonville, Arkansas Tigers adopted “Eye of the Tiger’. Have a blessed week.

Aww…some Mondays Music Moves Me

Aww…some Mondays

Recently I went to a softball game that the.daughter of a friend of mine played on one of the teams. As always, I had camera in hand and you can scroll back a few posts to see the results of my efforts. I went back a week later and before the game one of the parents asked me if I would photograph her daughter in the dugout between the games. Her daughter was a senior, multi-sport athlete, so between the games she put on her letter jacket and I snapped a few images. During the game I managed to capture a couple of action images. I love doing this sort of thing. I get to practice sports photography and the parents get images of their kids that they just can’t capture on their cell phones. Here are the results.

If you know me, you know there is probably going to be a black & white image in the mix.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The musical themes for the month of May are brought to you by the guest host, Mr. John Holton, from The Sound of One Hand Typing. This first Monday of the month is a free choice week, so I am going to start by honoring the game of baseball and softball with a John Fogerty classic.

May signals the graduation of high school and college seniors as well as the onset of summer. After the Covid infected summer of 2020, many citizens are looking forward to a mask free, more casual summer of 2021. Hopefully we will see the return of days on the water, minor league baseball, and short trips to see family and friends that we haven’t seen in nearly two years. What does your summer plans include? What about the sounds of summer? Have a blessed week.